Chapter 7The Rubber Band Theory

People love happy endings. We go to the movies so we can feel at peace when the story ends on a high note. We walk out of the theater and back into our lives, imagining the characters staying just as they were on screen, wide smiles frozen in perpetuity—at least until the sequel.

If we were making the movie of our partnership, the ideal happy ending would have been when Maggie’s leukemia went into remission and our partnership grew stronger because we faced these challenging times together. As in a Bollywood film, the credits would have rolled over plenty of dancing and singing and celebrating.

But because this is real life, that’s not what happened. Instead, Maggie’s diagnosis and treatment were important steps ...

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